Spectacles.



S. C. 'LAFLINL SPEGTAOLES. APPLICATION FILED M344, 1911'.

1,098,91 1 Patented June 2,1914,

WITNESSES.-

Ill/VENTUR STEP/7f c- Ll/"L/IV Wm COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH CO.,WAs! uNGToN.D. I

STEPHEN O. LAIELIN, OF SOUTHIBB-IIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0AMERICAN OPTICAL COMPANY, OF SOUTHBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS,

MASSACHUSETTS.

A CORPORATIQN OF SPECTACLES.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, STEPHEN G. LAFLIN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Southbridge, in the county ofWorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Spectacles, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvementsun spectacles and has for its objectto provlde an improved construction of temple end, particularly intendedto prevent unintentional closing together of the temples, commonly knownas falling temples, and is also intended to provide a simple, economicaland eflicient construction of temples.

My invention comprises a lens, a temple end piece attachable to thelens, means for pivoting the temple in the end plece, a temple and acoil on the end of the temple of substantially the same size and crosssection as the temple, comprising a free end displaceable laterally toyieldingly engage the end piece, a bearing portion adapted to operate onthe pivoting means in the end piece, and a shoulder adapted to engagethe sides of the end piece and limit the movement of the templesoutwardly.

WVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described,delineated in the drawings and specifically claimed, it being understoodthat changes properly falling within the scope of what is claimed may bemade without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to denote corresponding partsthroughout the several figures of the drawmgs.

I11 the accompanying drawings: Figure I is a rear elevation of a pair ofspectacles embodying my invention. Fig. II is a top or plan view of Fig.I. Fig. III is an enlarged perspective view of the end piece and templeend showing the temple end in place on the pivoting means in the endpiece. Fig. IV is a view taken in the same plane as Fig. II and shows indetail a section of the temple and the coil on the end thereof. Fig. Vis an elevation of Fig. IV, showing the coil laterally displaced.

Referring specifically to the drawings, a pair of lenses 1 are connectedin the usual manner by a bridge 2 and lens clips or Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed February 24, 1911.

Patented June 2, 1914-.

Serial No. 610,569.

straps 3, a temple end piece 4; is attached to the outer ends of thelenses 1 by the usual clips 5. This end piece 4 is recessed in the usualmanner in the form of a female hinge for the admission of the temple endwhich is pivotedtherein in the usual manner by a pivot screwG. The endof the temple 7 which is pivoted in the end piece t is bent around intoa coil having a free end 8 which is resilient and displaceablelaterally, as shown in Fig. V. One section of the coil 9, Fig. IV, isformed to produce a bearing surface on the pivot screw 6 and anotherportion of the loop 10, Fig. IV, is flattened and adjusted to engage theshoulder 11, Fig. II, and limit the outer pivotal movement of thetemple.

A recognized defect in spectacles has been the tendency of the templeends to work loose on their bearings in the end pieces and fall togetheror drop when the spectacles were being removed or put in place, andvarious means have hitherto been adopted to prevent this falling, whichmeans have been more or less expensive and in the majority of cases notcapable of permanent adjustment. It will be noted, however, from aninspection of Fig. V in the drawing, that the free resilient end of thetemple has been displaced laterally. This free end is designed to beyielding so that when placed in the hinged portion of the end piece 4,the coil will yieldingly engage the sides of the female hinge and exertpressure thereon when the pivot screw has been put in place. Thispressure, while permitting intentional displacement, will hold thetemples in any desired position and prevent them from dropping back oftheir own accord. It will also be noted that by making the coils of thesame shape and cross section as the temples, that the cost of productionis considerably reduced and that an economical and eflicientconstruction is produced. It will also be noted that the outwardmovement of the temples about the pivot 6 may be limited to any desiredposition by flattening a portion of the coil 10, Fig. IV, and causing itto engage the shoulder of the kerf 11 in the female portion of the endpiece 4. This position can be determined as desired and may be 90degrees or more, according to the mutual relation of the flattenedportion 10 and the shoulder 11 Having thus described my invention, the

following is what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by LettersPatent:

1. In spectacles the combination of a lens, lens holding means, atemple, means for pivoting the temple in the lens holding means, and acoil on the end of the temple, said coil being of substantially the samecross section as the temple and comprising a free end displaceablelaterally and adapted to yieldingly engage the lens holding means, abearing portion adapted toengage the pivoting means in the lens holdingmeans, and a shoulder adapted to engage the lens holding means and limitthe pivotal movement of the temple.

- 2. The combination with an end piece included a pair of spaced ears,of a temple having a pivot receiving loop formed therein, the materialforming the loop being continued in a straight portion and thenreversely bent and continued rearwardly past the loop, the loop beingslightly twisted from its normal plane, whereby when the (topics of thispatent may be obtained for loop is placed between the ears of the endpiece the twisting will cause the same to frictionally engage the earsto resist pivotal movement of the temple while the forward continuationadjacent the loop will provide a shoulder to engage the end piece andlimit the pivotal movement of the temple in one direction.

3. The combination with an end piece ineluding a pair of spaced ears, ofa temple five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,Washington, D. 0.

